"all bikes lead to a Goldwing"

jonjonboo said:
I’m getting 42-51 mpg with my best being 265 miles on 5.2 gallons between fill up’s. I felt the same as you regarding riding the twisties in the beginning but I now have @ 8000 miles on “Lucille the red” and I’m feeling way more confident now that I’m much better using the shifter switches ( took some serious getting used to)
Give it time, that fat girl knows how to dance !
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Bug dr. wrote: After playing around with modes and settings, I'd rather have a manual clutch for the twistier roads. I don't think I will ever be as comfortable with a DCT in the tight stuff.

My Fuelly fill ups total 17 now across 3,250 miles and I'm averaging 47.3 mpg. 1,111 miles of that was a Saddlesore at IBA speeds my average was 45 mpg for that ride. Despite the smaller tank I have no range issues with it. It's no ST or RT with 300+ mile range but 220-250 all day long.



After living with a DCT bike since 2015 I fall back on the advice that it really takes a few tens of thousands of miles in various conditions to explore the corners of performance and learn how to exploit the technology. Some riders will be happy with full auto or full manual and never progress the skills to discover fully what is available. I don't think you guys are in that description. DCT can be very nuanced and I feel a good rider will be surprised [in a good way] for a while learning how mode, throttle, and braking work together to achieve what the rider wants. Give it time. So far I tend to use Tour and override the programmed shift points as I see fit depending on what and where I am at the time.
 
Dave said: "So far I tend to use Tour and override the programmed shift points as I see fit depending on what and where I am at the time."

That is the method I gravitated to also, and for the most part it worked well with one exception. Sometimes it would shift back up a gear when I still need it to be in a lower gear. As you know, tour mode likes to run up the gears as quickly as possible. On long downhill runs, I needed it to stay in a lower gear longer. Using that method, however, it did work to downshift a few gears going into turns and it felt like it held the gear longer out of the turn (i.e. downshifting from 6 to 4, it held fourth gear longer out of the corner).

I got better (smoother) as the weekend went on. In Arkansas I tend to use sport mode with greater success. Most of the roads in WI and MN were too rough to utilize sport mode comfortably.

I will play around with manual mode more on my next ride to see if I like it. I tried it but thought sport mode worked pretty well so I never went back to manual. That might be a good solution on bumpy, twisty roads.

I appreciate the input as this is all new to me.
Mike
 
FYI: my last fill-up going 75 mph on the way to KCMO I averaged 38.6 mpg. I think I had an about an 8 mph headwind. My next tank was 45.1 mpg. I didn't bother calculating exact mileage on the twisty roads but I'd say it was closer to 50 mpg.
Mike
 
Wonder if mileage improves as bike breaks in? I don't care who says what they all seem better after 5-7000 miles and better again by 12-15,000.
 
Donk said:
Wonder if mileage improves as bike breaks in? I don't care who says what they all seem better after 5-7000 miles and better again by 12-15,000.
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I still have the bagger 15.5” windshield which also helps mileage, soon my 7Juroc windshield which will be 2.5” taller and 2” wider on each side will make a slight reduction ( hope not)
 
I have a 20" F4 Custom windscreen on the bike and OEM upper fairing deflectors (turned in to capture more air) just for reference. The F4 is 4" taller and 4" wider than the stock Goldwing screen.
Mike
 
Bug Dr. said:
Dave said: "So far I tend to use Tour and override the programmed shift points as I see fit depending on what and where I am at the time."

That is the method I gravitated to also, and for the most part it worked well with one exception. Sometimes it would shift back up a gear when I still need it to be in a lower gear. As you know, tour mode likes to run up the gears as quickly as possible. On long downhill runs, I needed it to stay in a lower gear longer. Using that method, however, it did work to downshift a few gears going into turns and it felt like it held the gear longer out of the turn (i.e. downshifting from 6 to 4, it held fourth gear longer out of the corner).
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Besides paddling one or two extra gears down as you describe a here is a couple things I do when I know the transmission is probably going to upshift in/out of a corner before I want it to. One is to slip for the moment into Manual to hold the gear then when appropriate right back to Auto. It's more difficult to do this on the Wing as the M switch is a bit of a stretch for my thumb. The NC has a forefinger trigger switch as opposed to the Wing's 4-way rocker switch but practice, practice train the thumb. The other is to ever so slightly open the throttle during the maintenance throttle phase of the corner. This works better in tighter stuff. What I mean to just slightly 'breathe' a tiny amount of throttle increase coming down to the apex. If it was a cable throttle bike it might be just enough opening to take the slack out of the cables but not enough to pick up even 1 mph. This signals to the PCM you are asking for more throttle and it delays the upshift. Finesse it and come into the corner 1 - 2 mph slower than otherwise and pick up that 1 - 2 mph approaching the apex and then at apex pick the bike up with throttle, letting it shift itself out the corner. It will not shift up when it otherwise would have coasting on steady or closed throttle approaching the apex. We have been trained not to shift in corners because it upsets the suspension. When this transmission shifts in the 500 milliseconds it takes it does not upset the suspension. Hope this helps.
 
dduelin said:
Understandable, perhaps a new untitled one will be more appropriate, no?
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New or used it's a chunk of money and if I'm going to spend that much money on anything I want to be excited about it. I would say I'm curious about a 'Wing but not at all excited to own one......yet
 
Bug Dr. said:
It was June 2008. I had just purchased my ST a week earlier. I was filling my fuel tank for the first time on my 2007 ST 1300 when an old, weathered man riding an old, weathered Goldwing 1500 pulled up beside me. We started talking about bikes, riding and travelling. I mentioned that I had just returned to riding after a long break, and I was excited to see the U.S. and Canada. He told me it looked like I had a worthy steed for my plans and then threw in "all bikes lead to a Goldwing". I laughed and told him that I wasn't sure about that. I guess the old guy was smarter than I gave him credit for being at the time.

This bike wasn't even on my radar three weeks ago. I was still in the Veruca Salt mindset of "I want an RS and I want it now". The fact that there are no BMW dealers in my state kept wearing on me. I don't want to be 3.5 hours from a dealer and I don't want to trailer a new bike home. I kept asking myself "what do you want?"

I already have the Versys 650. That will fill the fun in the twisties urges and I can travel on it for shorter distances.......so all of those boxes are checked.

I wanted the following:
Simple
Reliable
Comfortable (must have cruise control)
No drama (borderline boring)
Local
Relatively inexpensive

The answer I came up with.......no, it can't be.......over and over again........hell no, it can't be...........I'm not that old.........it checks all of the boxes...........damn, that old man was right.

A 2024 Goldwing (ouch, it hurts just to say it)..........I'm at least getting the "sportier" version without the lounge chair on back.

Meet Kermit, the green Goblin
IMG_2242-XL.jpg


Yes, I actually did it.
Mike
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Awesome looking bike! I had a 2008 and loved it. I framed it out too much in twisties so back to sport touring I went. The wing is a superb motor.
 
Donk said:
New or used it's a chunk of money and if I'm going to spend that much money on anything I want to be excited about it. I would say I'm curious about a 'Wing but not at all excited to own one......yet
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Yep, should move you twice, when you see it, when you ride it.
 
I took an '18 6 speed tour for about an hour and a half ride yesterday. This particular one was just traded in with 35k miles on it and I would describe it as rode hard and put away wet. In spite of that it was probably one of the easiest bikes I've ever ridden. Knowing the rear tire was shot I still hustled it through some corners and the bike dd fine. I didn't hate it!

I made the guy an offer on the '24. See what happens.
 
Bug Dr. said:
It was June 2008. I had just purchased my ST a week earlier. I was filling my fuel tank for the first time on my 2007 ST 1300 when an old, weathered man riding an old, weathered Goldwing 1500 pulled up beside me. We started talking about bikes, riding and travelling. I mentioned that I had just returned to riding after a long break, and I was excited to see the U.S. and Canada. He told me it looked like I had a worthy steed for my plans and then threw in "all bikes lead to a Goldwing". I laughed and told him that I wasn't sure about that. I guess the old guy was smarter than I gave him credit for being at the time.

This bike wasn't even on my radar three weeks ago. I was still in the Veruca Salt mindset of "I want an RS and I want it now". The fact that there are no BMW dealers in my state kept wearing on me. I don't want to be 3.5 hours from a dealer and I don't want to trailer a new bike home. I kept asking myself "what do you want?"

I already have the Versys 650. That will fill the fun in the twisties urges and I can travel on it for shorter distances.......so all of those boxes are checked.

I wanted the following:
Simple
Reliable
Comfortable (must have cruise control)
No drama (borderline boring)
Local
Relatively inexpensive

The answer I came up with.......no, it can't be.......over and over again........hell no, it can't be...........I'm not that old.........it checks all of the boxes...........damn, that old man was right.

A 2024 Goldwing (ouch, it hurts just to say it)..........I'm at least getting the "sportier" version without the lounge chair on back.

Meet Kermit, the green Goblin
IMG_2242-XL.jpg


Yes, I actually did it.
Mike
Click to expand...
I’d like to hear a comparison. I’m considering a ‘wing in my future for long distance work. ST1300 is great fro twisties. Would love to hear the differences (good and bad).
 
CruisingDog said:
I’d like to hear a comparison. I’m considering a ‘wing in my future for long distance work. ST1300 is great fro twisties. Would love to hear the differences (good and bad).
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Will do. I’m on the road now. I have discovered some things I’m not crazy about and more things I like. Will give an update when I return.
Mike
 
I just installed the 18” 7Jurock windshield (with edge flip) and I notice a bit more heat coming off of bike when I ride- which was expected.
Something about the DCT Ive noticed is the thing changes its shifting frequency after you force it to downshift a lot in the curves. I believe the computer automatically changes shifting patterns to accommodate your current style of riding (less frequent up shifts). I’m still learning how to make the best out of this beast and I’m happy to say I’m having loads of fun, I just put a new BT46 with new brake pads on front (Niche sells them @ $20 a set L&R) Next week I head to SnakeSToc then ArkanSToc, from there to Colorado. First serious road trip on the new wing, I’ll let y’all know how I like it after spending a couple weeks in the saddle.
 
After 5000 miles I have developed some likes and dislikes of the Goldwing.

Likes:
Very comfortable- stock seat works great, bar reach is perfect, pegs are in a good spot that do not cause any unusual discomfort. I'm 5'9" with a 30" inseam for reference. I can easily flat foot the bike at stops.
Great wind protection - The adjustable screen (F4 Custom 20" tall and 4" wider) works great for blocking wind. Also, the OEM upper air-deflectors work very well.
Apple Car Play - works great once you figure out the correct start-up sequence with the bike. Easy to use music, maps, communication. I like it way more than I thought I would.
DCT - Overall, I like the DCT for a touring bike. It is very easy to live with. I'm not sure I'd enjoy a DCT on any other bike......maybe.

Dislikes:
Ground clearance - Part of the comfort comes as a result of this being a low bike. This thing is LOW. I drag pegs when doing mundane things without trying (i.e. on ramps). On a road in Wisconsin, I drug the Traxxion Dynamics belly pan on the bottom of the engine while going around a curve at about 50 mph. Glad I had the belly pan since it now has some gouges down the middle. Dragging pegs is not something I enjoy. I'd much rather ride a bike with enough ground clearance to NOT drag pegs when riding spirited. My preference.
Fuel - I can't believe any engineer thought it was a good idea to open a locked compartment in order to push a button to open the fuel compartment. Surely there is a better way of getting to the fuel filler. However, that is not the worst part of fueling. I've never owned a bike that is so difficult to fuel. If you hold the nozzle in the tank until shut-off, you will have put about 3.5 gallons into a 5-gallon tank. You have to lift the nozzle and fill the rest of the way. This is possible, albeit slowly, with fuel nozzles that you can modulate the flow down to a small stream. It is damn near impossible with the nozzles that are either on or off. Fuel comes up the filler tube inside the tank so quickly it overflows. I usually have a nice wet spot of fuel beneath the bike after filling. Very frustrating to the point of almost being a deal breaker for me.
Cruise control - Cruise control works well except for one little gripe that I have. A hypothetical: If you set the cruise at 70 mph and accelerate to pass and go up to 77 mph let's say and let go of the throttle it will catch your speed at 70 mph.....great. If you have to brake or disconnect the cruise for some reason, I usually try to not hit resume until I've reached 70 mph and try to hand off the bike back to cruise. Here's the problem that frustrates me: When I speed back up to 70 mph and try the hand off, the bikes slows about 5 mph (in this case down to 65 mph) before accelerating back to 70. I've never owned a bike or vehicle that worked this way. If I've just passed someone, I'd prefer to NOT slow down right in front of them after the pass.

These are my likes and dislikes and solely my likes and dislikes. If you own a 2018 -2024 Goldwing you will surely have different likes and dislikes. I'm trying to provide my honest opinion for the benefit of others that might be looking at purchasing one in the future. I'm not married to any brand and not a kool aid drinker. I've owned many brands and styles of bikes in the past, some I've liked and some not so much.

My overall assessment is that the Goldwing is a pure touring bike and NOT a sport-touring bike (this should piss off some of the GW enthusiasts). When I hear the GW referred to as an ST1800, I agree only so much as they didn't replace the ST1300 and shrank the old Wing. IMHO, it is not a sport touring bike equal to the ST1300. My GW weighs 804 lbs stock with full fluids. I can argue that it handles well for an 800 lb bike but it is still an 800 lb bike.

Will I keep the Wing? For now I will. However, my passion for riding is on sport-touring bikes. I can't get it out of my blood. I prefer the ability to tour and enjoy the twisties along the way. I enjoy the touring part of the Wing but not the twisty riding part.

That is my honest opinion,
Mike
 
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